Shard
by Liaras
Summary: This is basically an O.C along the vague lines of some of the concepts of inFamous
1. Chapter 1

**I live in a little town called Lutterworth. If you haven't heard of it, you probably won't want to. People comment on how nice a place it is, but they obviously haven't lived here long. That, or they haven't lived here at all. Lutterworth may have a nice sort of 'front', but it's society is messed up big-time.**

**Lets list a few types of people. You get slutty people, sexually failed people, demented people, too-normal people (which is also demented in a sense…), you get anorexic people, fat people, obese fat people (which is like a kinda 'super-fat'), depressed people, hyperactive people, nerdy people, chav people. You get old people, young people, old people who think they're young. You get over-worked people, under-worked people, whores and hoes, bartenders, crack-dealers and free riders. I even have a guy that's insanely happy living on the next street. He'll smile all the time, even when it rains or hails or whatever. This might be ok, even considering the people mentioned above.**

**Except his wife and pet dog of twelve years died a week ago…**

**So you see, Lutterworth is really not the nicest place on the earth to live in.**

**And it's about to get a whole lot worse.**

**See, imagine all these people. Every single crazy, messed up person living in this town. Now give them all terrible, insane abilities and leave them for a few weeks to their own devices. Yup. Insanity.**

**I lived with my family, like most fifteen-year-olds. It was alright, but there was a lack of feeling free, being able to do whatever you want. I didn't have to worry about that for long, and yet I realise that with this new-found freedom, I began to lead a dangerous life.**

**I remember the night it happened. I'm sure everybody does who saw it, it's not something easily forgotten. Everyone remembers, except the many killed by it. I still wonder to this day why I'm not dead with them. Everybody my age, save a few, were killed. It's not as if I'm extremely strong or buff or anything like that. I suppose I just have a tendency to survive and prosper.**

**Anyway, as I was saying, I remember. I had been at home, it had been 8:47. The curtains to the living room were still open, even though it was almost dark. It let out a view of a long street which ended with another street and more houses like mine. I lived at the middle of a sort of T-junction, with houses to my left and right, and a road in front of me.**

**The television was playing some stupid show which every other demented soul in the house seemed to like but I hated. We were all sat on chairs or the sofa, except for my mum, who was in the kitchen. She shouted something at me through the door, but I didn't catch it and so ignored it like I do if I don't hear something. She called again, but again I didn't hear, and didn't care.**

**She suddenly slammed open the door and shouted something at me. It contained many swear words, so I ignored that too.**

**We began to argue and, as always my older brother and sister started having a go at me as well. This continued for a few minutes, escalating all the time until it reached the point where I'd had enough. Just had enough. This had been going on for so long, that I was just sick of it. So I got up, and punched my brother full on his jaw. It was no light punch, for I was strong after going to the gym for way over a year, and it sent his twenty-one-year-old body sprawling across the room.**

**I even surprised me how quickly he was up again and holding me down against the floor after punching me in the side of the head. I would have been able to beat him easily if we'd been on even ground, but his weight was pressing hard on me. I struggled and managed to gat an arm free, which I then used to hit him in the ribs with. Winded, he fell to the left. I got to my knees, spitting a bit of blood because he had hit me in the mouth while I was down. There was a distant sound, and I turned towards the living room window.**

**There was a rumbling boom, and the earth began to shake. In the distance I saw something light up and begin to pulse. It was like a force field of some kind, but beating with electricity. It expanded quickly, throwing up debris. It had the effect of a bomb, wiping most things away that it touched. It came over the street opposite me and the ground began to tilt and bend and shake and rumble. And then it hit me, the electricity coursing through me as if I was a live circuit. My vision white and blinded. My muscles spasmed and died on me. The electricity was all around me, consuming me. I let out a silent scream of agony, then sudden blackness.**

**I woke where I had fallen, my eyes opened blearily. My body stung, but was sort of muted, as if morphine had entered my body. And, as I looked around me and registered the people in white coats working at me and the machines all around I realised it probably was. The doctors were murmuring to one antother, and one was clutching his hand.**

"**He's still alive after that blast; he's bound to have some electricity remaining in his body," one of the doctors told the man who was holding his hand as he began to rant.**

"**That wasn't a tiny spark!" the man was shouting. "There were a thousand volts in that! He almost killed me, and I didn't even touch him!"**

"**Then it probably wasn't him." the first doctor said calmly. "It was probably from some destroyed electrical device. If that had come from this young man, he would have died long ago from the electricity within him. Besides, if it was even possible that there's much electricity in his body, the electromagnetic force form his body would have disrupted all nearby electrical devices. Including the machines attached to his body."**

"**I sup-" the wounded man was about to say when the machines went haywire. One moment they were working, and then next half were on red lights and the other half were beeping emergencies. I looked in alarm at the doctors assembled about me as electricity surged through my body. It sparked and flashed lightning-fast over my bare chest and sank deep into my skin. The cables jolted as the massive charge burst through the plastic and openly skittered crazily over the metal. The shards of power were instantly absorbed into my body.**

**Every single bolt. Nothing wasted.**

**And I felt the power within me. It tingled in my fingers and heart and mind. I felt it consume me, and flashes of the electric bomb-like thing went off inside my mind. There was a cut open in my chest, but after letting some electricity run free through my veins, the shards attached and bounded like stitches across my skin and pulled and healed.**

**I couldn't hang onto the electricity though, and a moment after absorbing it, my body let it out. It flashed in arcs across my skin and the floor and some of the doctors and the machinery and bare broken wires and there were sparks and screams as the power flowed in massive bursts from my body and laced across everything. And it was a burst. The shock was at least three metres in diameter and continued for several seconds until I stopped it with what I could hold on. A measly amount, compared to what I had had. But still power.**

**The electricity faded into the ground and the doctor's bodies. Three lay dead on the floor, but the other two appeared to be fine. They stared in amazement at me.**

"**My! That must have been the attraction of the rest of the electricity on your body. Are you alright lad? That was several thousand volts! I do hope it's all gone!"**

**I nodded to the doctor and sat up. I felt the electricity inside me still, only fifty or so volts; a small store. But I still had it. I detached the cables which were attached to me and stood. The two remaining doctors stood too. I felt a sudden urge, a sort of sense. I felt the electricity residing in all of the objects around me, and how much there was in them. It pulsed within the objects, mostly tiny amounts, except for the three dead bodies which housed still some of the massive discharge.**

**The two doctors rose too. "Don't worry about them, sonny. There are plenty others dead now. They don't make anything significant. Are you sure you're alright? It seems from the position we found you in that you were caught by the full blast. Its amazing; you should be burnt to a crisp like your family, but there isn't a scratch on you! We even had to cut in the same spot three times to make an incision in your chest!"**

**The two walked off and I crept towards a body. Putting my hand near it, I drew in the flow of electricity. It jumped from the dead body to my live one until I had almost drained it. I felt as if I'd eaten a full meal, but wasn't bloated. Apparently four hundred or so volts was the most I could absorb at the moment. Yet.**

**I let out a burst which shattered a piece of machinery and smiled as the electricity sunk into the earth. I had power. I rose my hand and drew a little power from another body and it jumped across the metre space into me. It flickered and spiralled down my arm and into my body.**

**I had a lot of power.**

**But so did many others…**


	2. Chapter 2

~Shard~ 2

(This is faintly linked to the new game 'inFamous.' Only the ability and a couple of other thinks are copied, but I feel an need to acknowledge the game.)

It was two days since the blast had gone off and destroyed most of the town. Still no-one knew where it had come from, and there were only a few hundred survivors. I was one of them, and one of the most powerful as well.  
I had seen people wandering the streets, desolate and without hope. Some were mutilated with missing limbs or huge gaping wounds. I had seen a young boy, no more than seven, literally absorbing the life-force of someone in an alley. I considered helping the man fight of this inhuman child, but thought batter of it. I was no better than him.  
I was not wandering like these homeless people. I was waiting. Building my ability, testing the boundaries of it. It seemed as though there was a sort of static barrier over my skin which made it harder to damage. I had tried cutting my wrist, and it ended up taking six strong cuts to break the skin. I then released some electricity to heal it. Since then, I had learned to use this passively and so every time I was injured, my body healed. I also learned how to shoot a concentrated blast of electricity out of my hand, and also hold the power in my hands which made impacts mch more potent.  
I was waiting for others to emerge, because after seeing the life-sucking child, I was certain there were more. Perhaps there were other abilities. Others which could absorb other things. I didn't know, and that is why I waited.  
Today, however, these people emerged. I discovered that they had been waiting, just like me, keeping their abilities secret. I soon found myself in a newly-found order. These people, people like me, were significant to ordinary humans. I myself didn't even think we were human at all any more. They had begun to take areas for themselves, some by themselves, and others in groups. It was their territory, their turf now. I however, was still adamant that I was one of the most powerful super-humans. I needed to find my own area to control. I realised that many places would be taken, those that created income like shops and the local Docks. I would have to fight someone soon.  
I was learning to store more electricity, and also to feed off electricity every few hours. I didn't need to eat or drink any more, and water actually stung. I had only stepped n a small puddle once, but instantly most of the electricity drained out of my body and sprouted across the water. I was staying away from water from then on. I cold now store around a thousand volts in my body, and discharge it at will.  
I had also considered allies. I figured that us super-humans wouldn't be able to survive unless we worked in groups. But apart from the young boy, I had seen no other people with abilities. And besides, I wasn't about to become allies with a person who could defeat me.  
I was near the main super-market of the town when I was jumped by three people. The one on my right was straining the muscles of his arms, probably enhanced strength, and a girl on the left had fire in one of her hands. The one in the middle, whom I assumed was the leader, addressed me. I was wearing black trousers, a black long-sleeved top and a long coat. That was lucky since stray sparks of electricity occasionally ran over my chest and arms. With the long coat, they couldn't know I had an ability, let alone one so powerful.  
"Normal, move out of the area or we will be forced to make you go. This is our territory and only people with my say-so can enter. You're lucky, if you were a Special, we wouldn't be talking right now."  
The boy let the implied threat hang in the air for a moment. "I'm sorry," I replied, not even raising a finger to electrocute one of them. "I've been low since it happened, so I don't know what's happening. Could you inform me? Tell me who owns what?"  
"I suppose... Me, Rocks, and Leah own the area surrounding the shop. My name's Cell. I only know who owns one other area, and that's the houses west of here, up by the school. That's owned by a guy called Dan. He must be pretty strong, we reckon, if he can keep the area from other gangs by himself. I know some girl tried to take his turf yesterday. We saw her go, but we never say her come back. But Dan still owns the place. Small area, though, not really worth taking. Now, can you move along?"  
"So you Specials wage battles for territory?" I asked, building shards of energy in my right hand. I turned it slowly towards the guy called Rocks, hardly moving my hand, and not at all moving my arm.  
"Yeah, I suppose. We're the strongest Specials we know. Except maybe Dan. All the Specials we met up till now weren't very strong at all. Perhaps they have absorbing abilities and haven't learned how to absorb a lot. I don't know. But we've scared off a good few. We don't kill people; we're humane, not like some of those other bastards out there. Now, please leave."  
"See now, I reckon I might be able to beat you guys. Maybe take this area for myself..."  
"Oh really," Scoffed Cell. "You and what..."  
With that I opened my hand fully towards Rocks, hitting him full on in the chest with a medium burst. In surprise and pain he fell backwards, but I was surprised to see him on his feet again in a few moments. Clearly some more physical powers give Specials resistance against other abilities. All three of them gawped at me as a shrugged off my long coat and focused a ball of electricity in my right hand. I wasn't ambidextrous, and found it a little easier to focus energy from my right hand and arm.  
Before any of them could react, I blasted Rocks again, this time with over two hundred volts. He groaned in agony and tried to slowly get on his feet again. He looked drunk, and it probably would have been quite comical, except that the girl, Leah, was about to flame me. I rolled to the side, working electricity into both my hands. There were flames licking where I had been a moment before. It seemed as though Leah's ability worked in a similar way to mine; she focused the flames with her hands.  
I decided then not to try and kill Leah. She was my age, attractive, and had a useful ability. Perhaps I could call on her later if I spared her now.  
Instead of just electrocuting her like I had Rocks, I ran at her and transferred my electricity into a more physical form, giving me a little more strength than normal. I tacked her and pinned her to the ground as she tried blasting my chest. I relied on my static force-field which had, like my healing ability, become passive. My mind sent a constant small stream of electricity around my body to replace the damaged static. I held her down and spread electricity over her body, paralysing her. It would wear of in around five minutes; I didn't put much around her.  
Standing, I turned to face Cell. He rushed me but I sent him sprawling with an electric punch. To my amazement, I got up, no signs of damage showing.  
Shit, I thought, he has rapid cell regeneration... I suppose it makes sense of the name.  
I threw myself at him, bettering him with electrical punches and kicks. I sent a massive ball of energy into my hand and blasted him into the ground. This would have probably killed even Rocks, but before my eyes the hole in his chest healed. He got up again, punching my face with such force that it sent me to my knees. He had hit straight through my static barrier and cut my skin, but, a little like him, my body healed. I stood and we faced off. There was a near-by lamp post and before he rushed me again, I topped up my electrical energy. It still amazed me; the rush of power and the sight of arcs of electricity jumping through the air into me. It was like a small electrical explosion which spread wider, then focused on me. I was at one thousand one hundred volts now, and quickly lowered that by five hundred with a massive blast at Cell. I knew it wouldn't stop him, but five hundred volts had to take a little while to drain out of his body, no matter how quickly he healed.  
A colossal force beat the back of my head and I fell forward. Before my body healed itself, I felt blood running down my neck. It had fractured my skull, and took around fifty volts to heal. I swirled around and put my hand on Rocks' chest as he was about to attack me again, sending a big flow into his body. He screamed and fell to the floor, writhing in agony. I had sent over three hundred into him, which would have killed a lot of people. It still only seemed to temporarily stop him though. I sent another hundred volts around him, incapacitating him.  
Before Cell could attack me again, for he was already back on his feet, I absorbed another few hundred from the lamp post and, while the electricity still flowed into me, I sent it right out again into Cell. He was a powerful Special. I didn't want to make too much enemies just yet. I reckoned I'd apologise once I was out of this mess. They seemed a good kind, and might make good allies too, even though I didn't entirely agree with the 'no-kill' thing. I had realised a few hours after gaining my ability, that all people carried static electricity. I could take this, but it hurt the person too.  
That paralysed Cell for a couple of moments, which gave me time to quickly go over to Leah. I whispered into her ear;  
"I don't want to hurt you, or your companions. Quite the opposite in fact. You would make a good companion. I believe that I am one of the most powerful Specials in this town, even more powerful than you or Rocks or even Cell. It's your choice. You can find me near the Plaza..."  
With that, I ran from the shop, and the three incapacitated Specials too.  
It had been an interesting meeting, but only the start. I still didn't have my own area. I suspected that someone would own that area, so I'd have to take it and make it safe if I were to meet Leah there.  
My life was getting dangerous, and with my abilities, I was sure it wouldn't be long before people came after me.  
I was enjoying every minute of this anarchy.


	3. Chapter 3

Shard- ~3~

(This is faintly linked to the new game 'inFamous.' Only the ability and a couple of other things are copied, but I feel an need to acknowledge the game.)

The Plaza was indeed owned by someone. The day after my encounter with Cell and his group, I arrived at the Plaza. I had topped up on electricity, so wasn't too worried that there were no lights around the Plaza to suck energy from. Before making an assault on the Plaza, I had a look who I would be fighting.

The Plaza was a large circular area where people used to meet. It was still a good meeting place, and that's why I assumed the two men took it for themselves. One of these men was large and around forty, with a bald head and frowning features, while the other was younger, around thirty, brown hair and angular features like me.

I had been sat watching these two for a few hours, but neither of them seemed to show any ability. It was beginning to get late when I decided I would try the innocent approach again, and surprise them. I walked into the Plaza slowly, long coat on again (I had picked it up while running from Cell's gang), and a sort of lost look on my face.

The younger man noticed me first, and approached with caution. I didn't blame him.

"Who are you?" he said suspiciously, cutting straight to the point.

"I, I don't know," I feigned a look of utter blankness. "All I can remember is the explosion, and then..."

"Special!" the man called suddenly, and punched me in my surprised face.

Shit! I thought. How did he know?!

I was on the floor at this point as my new wound slowly healed, but the man was on me in a second, punching me repeatedly and not giving me a chance to get him off. He was so quick, and I was in so much pain, that it was the most I could do to heal as he struck again and again. My face quickly became bloodied. Focusing hard, I managed to conjure a few shards of electricity into my fist and strike the man. He fell backwards but was up in a moment, even though his head was bleeding. I rolled back onto the balls of my feet, my body battered despite the healing.

The man rushed me but I created a ball of power in my fist and smacked his jaw as he approached. He hardly flinched before he was on top of me again, pummelling me. It was amazing, really. I had hit this man twice with electrically charged punches and yet he didn't even seem to care. I grabbed his wrist and shocked him quickly, stunning him, and threw him off. Standing, I shot the man multiple times with lightning. By the time I had finished with my slaughter, the man had five holes in him. And yet to my sheer amazement, he got up again. He didn't heal, he was still bleeding from his gut and chest, yet he seemed just as strong as before.

In the corner of my eye, I saw the bald man come towards me. His hands were glowing with a bright light. I managed to put around a hundred volts into my static shield before the man hit. Instantly my shield went down and I was flung back with the shock of an explosion.

Ah shit, I thought.

I was in trouble, big, big trouble. And there was no-one to help. I quickly turned, strengthening my leg muscles, and jumped at the younger man. I landed on top of him and, sensing the electricity in him, placed my hand on his face and began to suck. His body went limp as I took his life-power along with the electricity. Finishing within a second of when I had started, I turned to face the radioactive man. We ran at each other, my hands filled with electricity, his pure energy. The collision shook the ground and threw both of us back. I got up first and blasted him with a powerful shot of electricity. It killed him instantly.

Sighing, I heaved myself to the younger man's body. He was breathing shallowly; he would survive, unless his wounds killed him. The other man, however, was dead as a stone. I moved both bodies away from the Plaza and sat, not particularly enthusiastic about my hollow victory. My body hurt like hell, and my electrical power was almost depleted, I needed more. I stood and began to search for an energy source.

After topping up at a telephone booth, I returned to my Plaza to sleep some. I stayed in the shadows, waking every few minutes to check for intruders. There were none, and the next day I woke with broken sleep. My head killed, and some of my electricity had gone; probably to give me a little energy that I should have got from sleep.

I stood and stretched. Perhaps I should get some sort of generator into my new 'crib' to restore my power. This was, after all, my new base.

I waited the day out in the shadows still, waiting both for Leah, and any goons who thought they could take the Plaza.

I saw Leah at the edge of the Plaza at around midday, looking around, probably for the two people who had been guarding it before me. She was good. I could only just see her from my waiting place. If the two goons would still have been here, she could have seen them, they couldn't have seen her. She walked forward tentatively, ready to flee at the slightest movement. I stood slowly and walked into the daylight so she could see me. At first sight she tensed, but then relaxed just the slightest bit as she saw that it was me. She walked forwards to greet me.

"How did you clear the place of those guys?" she asked, a tiny bit of awe entering her voice.

My head still killed from the impacts I had taken, but I wasn't about to let that on. "I'm just good, I suppose," I said, giving her a smile.

"Yeah well, I considered your invitation yesterday... You didn't even try to attack me, just put that thing you can do on me so I couldn't move to attack you. You attacked Cell and Rocks. I suppose I should say... thanks."

"You are quite welcome," I said, flashing another smile. I felt much older than I was.

"Thing is, you gotta persuade me its worth leaving Cell and Rocks for you. I got a few minutes; I told them I was going to go top up on heat, and wanted to do it privately."

"Well," I said, thinking a little. "I'm strong, I managed to beat you, Cell and Rocks without breaking a sweat, not that I can sweat any more... And I managed to claim this territory single-handedly against a radioactive guy and some other fucker who just wouldn't die... That enough?"

She put on a thinking expression. "I suppose," she said. "What will being in your gang entail? What jobs will I have to do?"

It was my turn to think. "I suppose just protect this area. Find yourself food; I don't need to eat, I feed off electricity. You'll be my companion, so assist me in whatever... That's it I suppose."

She shrugged. "I'm an absorber like you," she said. "I don't eat either. I suppose that sounds good. Better than the deal I get from Cell. We'll need to build a place to stay though. I don't know about you, but I've learnt that water doesn't mix well with me."

"Same," I said, and with that we were companions.

It took us another day to build a shelter, piling up scraps of burnt wood and stone. Leah helped a lot, using her ability to heat tar to stick things together. I could have done it, but it would have taken a lot, lot longer, due to the fact my electricity was more concentrated.

It was a shambles, but our home now. A small, one-floor block of a building, with two blocks inside for beds. It was made from so many different materials that I stopped counting after twenty-seven.

Leah seemed to be surprised that no-one had attacked yet, especially Cell and Rocks.

"It should have happened by now. Cell would have realised by now that I'd ditched the group for you. Not that I regret the decision."

"I don't know," I said as I sat with her outside our shelter. "Perhaps he thinks you're dead? That you'd been ambushed by Specials?"

"No... That's not like Cell."

I looked at her, and she looked away. I was about to remark on how warm it was, when Leah suddenly disappeared. I stood, reflexly charging my arms and hands with electricity. Leah appeared a few metres to my side, unconscious. I felt something against my chest, but then the electrical charge of my body repelled whatever it was. There was a shout as the electricity sparked around a human form. A young boy appeared, no more than thirteen, in front of me, clutching his smouldering hand.

"Who the hell are you?!" I shouted, aiming my hand at his chest.

An attack had come, but not in the way I had assumed.

Before I could shock him, the boy disappeared again, and I heard his footfall pelt across and away from the Plaza. Forgetting about him, I turned my attention to Leah, who was beginning to mutter to herself. I helped her up and asked her what happened, but she was disorientated and didn't have a clue besides. I let it drop, curious as to who the invisible kid was.

The day had been eventful, and I'd gained a powerful ally.

But other Specials were getting more dangerous by the day. Including me.


	4. Chapter 4

My pocket vibrated unexpectedly. It was the dead of night, and I was taking the watching shift outside the ramshackle home of Leah and me. A few hours ago, the invisible kid had surprised us, but he had left, and not returned. Leah was inside, sleeping fitfully, and I was worried that she might hurt herself. However, I knew that it was unlikely; inside the single room were simply the two beds which Leah and I had made, blocks of wood on the floor. Nevertheless, I worried for her.

The vibration surprised me, sending me to my feet and, reflexly, I put shards of electricity into my hands. Realising that it was my phone, I felt slightly foolish even though no-one had been around to see my outburst, and sat heavily down again.

It was the night of the fourth day, and already society had pretty much fallen apart. As Leah had told me earlier, practically every area was owned by someone now, mostly younger people, teenagers and the like, for some reason. I wondered vaguely what my next move would be. The Plaza was simply that, a Plaza. I needed to expand my territory, start producing income of some sort. I didn't know how many people had been left alive by the unnatural explosion, but I made a guess that there were only a couple thousand left, as opposed to the massive sixty thousand which had inhabited Lutterworth before.

My phone vibrated irritably in my pocket again, like a new-born baby waiting to be sated in some way to stop it crying. I heeded after a moment and fished it out of my pocket, pressed the accept button, and put the device to my ear. It was a number which I didn't know, certainly not in my phone-book.

"Hello," I said uncertainly into the speaker.

"Dude? Oh fuck, man, you're still alive!"

"Tyler?"

Tyler was my best mate, had been for the last ten years. I felt sort of guilty because of the fact that I'd totally forgotten about him, and all my other friends, to be honest. Still, this didn't mean that I didn't care, and I was hugely relieved to hear that Tyler was still alive.

"Dude, where you at? I got a problem. A really, really major one, mate. Think you could come over to my house? I really need your help dude."

I thought about it for a moment. Normally, I would have no trouble with going over to help Tyler with whatever problem he had. However, this was far from normal times. It was the dead of night, there were potentially hundreds of people running around with, quite blatantly, super-powers, and to top it all off, my own power was running a little low at just over half of what I could absorb.

Nevertheless, he was my best mate, and he needed help.

"All right dude," I said into the phone, "I'll be over there as soon as I can. You hang tight until then."

"Oh, man, thank you so much. You wouldn't realise how much this means to me. Be careful dude."

I hung up the phone and stood up. I contemplated waking Leah up, perhaps taking her with me, but quickly thought otherwise. My power may be running a little down, but with my static shield, and my weaker healing, I could survive the trip to Tyler's. And besides, it looked as if Leah needed her sleep as much as possible. It was past twelve, and we hadn't been attacked yet, so I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be too dangerous leaving her alone for a short while. It was only a few minutes to Tyler's place, and I didn't plan on staying too long.

Entering our small home, I put a shard of power into my index finger and burned the letters 'BRB' in the wood of my bed. The girl was a human flame-thrower; I'm sure she would be able to read the lettering on my bed.

I left the shack and started on my way, out of the west side of the Plaza and down Duggery Street. It was a long road, and Tyler lived near the end of it. It was sort of convenient that I had taken the Plaza. From my old house, it would have taken three times as long to get there.

Duggery Street was, as I said, quite long. It was a general street, with terrace houses walling both sides and a few side roads leading off to other main roads or dead ends. On the pavement there were lamp-posts at set intervals (about two metres apart) but only a few of them worked. I didn't wasted time topping up at one, because I wanted to get to Tyler's and back as fast as possible.

There were strange, inhuman sounds in the darkness, darkness which seemed darker because of the street lamps, and I shuddered every few moments at the cries which echoed out throughout the night. I hastened my pace.

I reached Tyler's door with my nerves a little tattered. If I could sweat I would be, no doubt. I still haven't worked out why I don't any more, but it wasn't exactly a priority thought. I knocked on the front door quietly, fearful to attract unwanted company. I looked a mess, no doubt. My hair was scuffled, mucky and unwashed, my black shirt and trousers were in pretty bad condition; both from the pummelling I had taken and also because of the electricity which constantly flowed through me, burning the tiny fibres. My long coat was about to the point of becoming ribbons, with several holes where I had been burned by the radioactive man and the various other falls I had taken the last few days. I considered this, thinking I probably looked like a character from a horror movie.

I heard someone, or something bound down a flight of stairs and tentatively open the door. Of course, it was Tyler. Tyler was about my age, fifteen, with long, straight chestnut hair as opposed to my shadow-black hair, and built quite thinly, also like me. He had less angular features than me, with a softer sort of face which looked caring and compassionate. He was wearing a blue shirt and grey jeans.

He was about to speak, when he saw my condition.

"What the hell happened to you, dude?" he asked in a subdued voice which was still thick with curiosity and shock.

It was then that I thought about the dry blood which still must be streaked down my face and over my chest. More of a mess than even I thought I had been.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, mate, things are getting a little rough around here. I got into a couple of... fights."

"Oh, I know. Looks like they messed you up pretty bad."

"Yeah well, looks are everything," I said, smiling faintly.

"You're not an awful lot at the moment then," he told me, returning the smile.

I needed to get back to Leah soon; this small-talk wouldn't do. "So, what did you want me for dude? You said there was a problem."

He paused, forgetting himself for a moment. Then it dawned on his face and it darkened. "Yeah. But lets go inside. Not safe out here."

"Tell me about it," I said, following him into his home. It was a three-bedroomed house, sparsely furnished, with only a table in the hallway, a small television an sofa in the living room, with a broken picture of Tyler's family on the wall, and there wasn't much at all besides a fridge-freezer and cooker in the kitchen. There was a dull, seventies style wallpaper in the house, something from one of those old films where everyone had horrible, bright skin and were always smiling.

I walked after Tyler as he scuttled up the stairs and into his room.

He turned, facing me, an anxious expression on his face.

"I'm gonna show you something dude. It's really weird, but don't freak, I'm still safe."

I knew instantly that he had an ability of some sort, and was curious as to what it was. The witty part of my brain, no matter how neglected the last few days, picked up the ironic use of the word, 'freak'. I didn't mention any of this, and simply nodded.

He walked over to wall on my right and placed his hand on it. He appeared to concentrate, and his hand began to sink into the wall. I stared in wonder as he managed to get up to his elbow into the wall before abruptly pulling it out and away. I had been expecting something spectacular, but this was simply amazing.

He came back over to me and gave me an uncertain look. I smiled reassuringly and raised my hand, palm outwards and fingers splayed. Aiming at the wall, I sent a short burst of lightning from my hand. It caught fire briefly before extinguishing itself. It left a little crater.

Tyler stared at me open-mouthed. I flashed another smile, which I hoped reassured him.

"That," he said, "Is cool. What else can you do?"

I replied with what I'd learnt as of yet about my ability, how it made a static barrier, could heal me slowly, how I could change it into kinetic energy within me and strengthen my muscles, and how I could paralyse people temporarily with a shock. I then asked him what he could do.

"Well," he said, a lack of enthusiasm in his voice. "That's pretty much it, really. I'm sort of afraid of trying to put my whole body through something, in case I get stuck. But you can you a lot more with your power."

Something flashed in my mind. "What do you need to absorb?" I asked, thinking of all the absorbers I had seen in the last few days, including me.

"Absorb?" confused a little now. "You need to absorb electricity? Mine just... works."

This made me think. Perhaps these 'Specials' could be put into categories. There were already Absorbers. What would Tyler's ability be under? Non-absorbers? Constants? I decided on the latter.

"Cool," I said, realising that too much time had already passed. I needed to get back to Leah. "Dude, I've got to go now," I tell him, "You should stay here, practice. That's how my power grew."

Tyler looked stricken. "No, man! I can't stay here! It's not safe!" He thought for a moment. "Hey, I can come with you! We need to stick together, yeah? Less of a target if we're together."

I had thought about giving this option to Tyler, but decided it not fair on him, since he would probably feel peer-pressured. However, he had offered his companionship himself, so I happily accepted. Phasing could make a powerful ability.

We left his house and as we walked back to the Plaza, I told him what I had been through the last few days. He rarely commented, except from when I mentioned the times I had been beaten half to death. I also told him about Leah, and how she absorbed heat to fuel her pyrokinesis. I explained to him how I (and I assumed Leah, too, since she absorbed heat) could absorb the static energy in people. Unlike me, I guessed Leah absorbed the heat of a person, and turned it to fire. He looked aghast, but I had assured him I had only done it to a man straight after the blast who had already been dead, and the crazy super-human.

We arrived at the Plaza, looking around us to see if there was anyone there. There was no-one, but there was an unnatural stillness in the air.

Something was wrong.

I told Tyler that he could make himself comfortable on my bed, or as comfortable as he could be, and that Leah would be on the other one. I was going to take a short patrol around the boundaries of the Plaza to search for trespassers.

As I walked away from Tyler, I saw, and heard him scurry into the shack. I had almost reached the boundary when I heard him yell. I turned, instantly thinking of the worst, and pelted back to the shack. Tyler had stumbled out, worry on his face.

He held up a piece of paper which I guessed had writing on.

On the other hand was blood.

Shock on his face, he handed me the note.

Before I even read the paper, I knew who it was.

Inscribed in blood, was the single word 'Ghost'.

Or, as a synonym, invisible.


	5. Chapter 5

Shard ~5~

My phone told me that it was twenty past twelve. Around Tyler and I the darkness swirled and clawed and gripped at the floor and air, trying to get close to us. I was staring at the word on the paper in my hand, too shocked to speak. The paper feels like a burden, and I let it fall to the floor. A breeze catches it and I watch as it's whisked away.

I turn my attention to Tyler. He's in a state of shock too, bordering pure panic. I remember that he's been holed up in his home since this happened. He hasn't had to kill anyone, like me. He hasn't even fought any other Special.

I blink out of my frozen state. I needed to focus, think, and find Leah.

"Dude, find some water and wash that blood off," I tell him. "We need to find this guy."

As we hunted for a puddle of water, I told him about the invisible kid which had attacked me and Leah yesterday. He was silent, and I imagined that he was still replaying the moments when he found the blood. It had only been a little bit, a warning.

After cleaning up his hand, Tyler turned to me. "What are we going to do, mate?" he asked me. "We don't know where this kid is. How will we find Leah?"

I don't know, I wanted to answer. I was wishing now that I'd never made the offer to Leah. If she was still with Cell, she wouldn't be gone right now. However, I say none of this, instead mulling over in my mind a fast plan.

"All right," I say. "Here's what we do."

It was now twenty-five to one. I was sat outside the shack, Tyler was inside, sleeping in my bed. The door was slightly open.

I was tired, but the silence of the Plaza kept me wide awake. There wasn't a sound; no cars, people walking and chatting, nothing. None of the sounds which I had grown up with, and had grown used to. No sound.

My plan was weak, to say the least. I had no idea if it would work, and if it didn't, I would be kicking myself for the rest of my life. Which, I thought, at this point, doesn't look too long.

I looked again at my phone. Twenty to one.

Although I had sort of expected it, the sudden shout still made me jump. I ran into the shack to see Tyler fall to the floor with a gasp, his balance off. This was because, behind him was a young boy, who still had his arms in a head-lock like position.

Our plan had been simple, and a little stupid really. There had been no certainty that the invisible boy would come back to take another companion of mine, and so Tyler could have been lying there faking sleep all night. And then there was the doubt of what would happen if he did come. Tyler, as he had said, had only ever phased half an arm through a wall. For him to pull this off, he had needed to phase through the arms of the boy. At least we knew he could phase through bio-matter now too.

Tyler was still gasping from the obvious effort, and the boy had been stunned by the guy who had just fallen through his arms, literally. Before he could get his senses back and disappear, I hit him with a bolt of lightning.

The boy, no older than thirteen, screamed and fell to the floor, clawing at his burnt shoulder. I ran over to him and, using my momentum, pinned him against the far wall as he was getting himself up. The kid howled in pain again as I impacted on his shoulder. Tyler was up in a moment and next to me in the next.

The boy was blonde, not obese, but far from muscular like Tyler and I. His cheeks were round and blushed a deep red, probably a result of his injury. The kid was also small, pitifully so, little more than five foot four. I easily restrained him as he bawled and thrashed.

"Tell me where Leah is!" I shouted over the horrible screech of the lad's voice.

"N- no! We're... we're loyal!" the blonde replied with a pain-laced voice.

I growled and flung him to the floor, hitting him with a small bolt. He roared and began to writhe.

"We can keep this up all night if you want!" I said, touching him and sending another shock through him.

"Okay, okay!" He shouted at me. He began to wail. "Just... just please don't do that again..."

"Tell me now," I said through my teeth, prepared to hit him again in case he tried anything.

The small thing didn't. "They're... they're holding the girl in the abandoned house. Not five minutes away from here."

I knew where the abandoned house was, and it wasn't a safe place. One question still remained in me mind however.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

The boy paused, the gears visibly turning in his mind. "It's the way we do it," he told me. "It's what we do."

Not content, but making do, I told the boy that if he came back, he would be killed. With that, I let him run, watching after him as he clutched at his shoulder.

A thought occurred to me, and I turned to Tyler. "This could be dangerous," I said. "Maybe you shouldn't come. You haven't really mastered your ability, and you could get hurt."

"Dude, I may not be able to shoot lightning out my hands, but I'm in this with you."

That meant a lot to me, but I didn't let it show and instead led the way to the house. It was a daunting haunt, one of the proper old Victorian houses, big and imposing. The paint was peeling and half of the windows had been knocked out. The door hung limply on its hinges. The door was in a recess next to a large window which looked in on an obliterated living room. Next to that was a smaller window, for the kitchen, which was still vaguely intact. Ivy glowed a deep emerald in the moonlight, illuminating it's thin tendrils and leaves up the face of the house.

I went first, shards of electricity skittering over my hand and forearm. The door led to a horrific scene. Blood was pooled on the chessboard tile floor, and a naked corpse hung limply on a rope from the ceiling. The poor woman had been beaten and stabbed to death, and fresh red liquid still oozed from the body. On the wall was the word 'GHOST', large and lettered in blood. I closed my eyes, but the image was already imprinted on my mind, scarred into the lines of my memories. I fought back the gag reflex as the scene in my mind thrummed and distorted slightly, the blood taking on a livid ruby and the naked body a paper white paleness. Tyler however, didn't seem to have as strong a stomach as me, because he turned and emptied his bowels right on the doorstep.

Keeping my mouth closed and breathing shallowly, Tyler and I moved past the corpse until we saw the entrance to our right which led to the living room, a door in front of us, and a spindly winding staircase to our immediate right.

"What do we do?" Tyler asked, still queasy. It was clear he was implying the multiple routes we could take.

I thought for a moment. "Best we stick together. If I were a member of this cult thing, I would probably have my lair area in a secret place. Upstairs doesn't seem as if it fits, really. So we go forwards, or right. Any suggestions?"

"Well, if I were the leader of this GHOST thing, and I had prepared for the eventuality that someone would raid the place, I would make a sort of detour, to make it look like my people went through one place a lot and trashed it, when really I told my people to take the other way an make sure nothing is damaged. However, if I had first considered this option..."

"So what you think is that the path on the right, into the living room, is this detour?"

"Well yeah, but you,re the leader, dude. You're the one with the power, an who can control it. Unlike me..."

"Hey man, you'll work out how to phase properly. The only reason I can work my ability so well is because of practice and experience," I said, putting an arm round his shoulder and patting his arm. We moved forwards, one of us on either side of the door against the wall.

"Dude," Tyler said. "What if they're watching us now? The bastards are invisible."

"Then we're already screwed," I said simply.

When I tried it, the door was locked. Taking a quick breath, I focused and shot a small, fast bolt at the door handle. Pushing again, I found that the door hadn't budged. I tried again, but to no avail.

"Hey Ty, I can't break the lock. I don't want to waste too much energy blasting the door though, 'cus I might need it. You think you could help?"

Tyler nodded, pale faced as he was, and approached the door. His hand phased slowly through the door above the handle. His breath came in rasps as he manoeuvred his arm and hand to find a key or latch. There was a minuscule click, and Tyler pulled his hand out, his breathing laboured. Trying the door, I found it opened.

"Good work," I told Tyler as he recuperated, then turned into the new room. It was a study, with a solid-looking wooden table, shelves of books, and a couple of boxes with odds and ends in. There was another door in the left wall. I realised then, as I looked up at the light on the ceiling, that the house had no electricity. I couldn't feel a pulse in the wiring anywhere in the room, and, remembering, I hadn't been able to feel it in the other rooms either. The only light had been coming from... where? There had been a sort of soft glow in the last rooms, but in here it was almost black.

I raised my hand in a fist and sent electricity leaping from my veins to collect in my hand to create a sort of juddering light. His effect made shadows jump and bound around Tyler and me as we moved to the next door.

This door opened when forced, the result probably being rusty hinges. This room was bare; grey concrete walls in contrast with the old flower patterned wallpaper, and a dusty stone floor. In the floor was a trapdoor.

There was a wordless glance between Tyler and I, and then we were climbing, climbing down metal rungs in pitch darkness. I didn't dare put on my energy torch, for fear that when I touched a rung, some of my electricity would stay in there and electrocute Tyler when he touched it.

I jarred my leg as I stomped into the stone floor. I had been in such a rhythm that I hadn't noticed the stone beneath me. I quickly ignited my torch so that Ty could see his way to the floor. He jumped the last three rungs, landing with a resounding boom. We were in a small circular room, with one corridor leading into darkness. Together we walked steadily through, hearing our footsteps echo around us. Within a few minutes, we entered a large circular room, still concrete, with several passages set in the wall in front of us. That however, wasn't what I was looking at.

Four people sat on the floor, their legs under them and their heads bowed. Their wrists were clasped in front of them, the chain bolted to the hard rock, and their ankles had been shackled to the floor. A tiny orange flame emitted from one of the peoples' hands. While Tyler inspected the other people, I ran over to Leah. I beheld her for a moment.

She was in a bad way, that was clear. Her clothes had been torn to shreds, much like mine, and where bare skin was exposed there was either an almost papery white, or covered in scratches and cuts. Her hair hung limply around her head, a dark greasy mass. The only sign that she was still alive was by the small flames flickering haphazardly in her palms.

"Hey dude!" Tyler shouted, "Two of these guys are already dead, but I think this girl might still be alive. I'll try to phase her-" His voice was suddenly cut off, replaced by the gruff sounds of a struggle. Tyler and another boy of similar age barrelled into the glow of light I was creating. Ty got the upper hand and straddled the other boy, punching the side of his face repeatedly. Then the boy jerked his hip and Tyler was thrown off. He rolled and landed in a crouching position. The boy struggled into a similar position.

"You all right, Ty?" I called to him, wondering whether to aid. Tyler grunted and lunged at the boy. I turned away and began to blast the cuffs on Leah's hands. After a few hits they snapped from pressure and Leah slumped forwards. I quickly did the same for her ankles then turned her over. She was breathing shallowly, and her eyes were diluted. Pressing my hand to Her chest, I sent a few sparks of electricity through her. Technically, if we were both energy absorbers, I should be able to give her some of my energy, and she would transform it into heat. When her body didn't jolt, I began to send more energy into her. I then spread electricity over her body, much like I did to myself to heal. She took a sudden shuddering breath and her eyes flickered open.

She looked up at me with a face resembling someone who had seen an angel. "It's going to be all right," I told her, cradling her head, oblivious to everything around me.

The only warning I had was a slight, fearful widening of Leah's eyes, and then there was a flash of pain in my head. I shouted, falling forwards onto the harsh ground. Rolling over, I sent a shock of lightning at the shape above me. It grunted and fell in a heap, a heavy sound accompanying the soft thump as his bat crashed to the floor.

"Leah, I need some light," I said, hearing a dozen sudden sounds spiralling around me. Leah took a large breath and fire flared in her hands, illuminating the cavern we were all in. However, aside from the apparently dead person I had shot, and the one Tyler was finishing off, there was no-one there. Realisation dawned on me as I felt icy metal slide between my ribs.

I didn't make a sound as I fell to my knees, my vision blurring already. White spots pulsated in front of me and I tasted blood in my mouth. The electricity built up inside me began to shatter as my body faltered. I felt it, along with the terrible agony in my side. I heard the sound of burning air and the roar of fire as Leah attacked my assailant, but it sounded far away, as if I was in a different world to them. Through my pain I realised that everyone in the room would die when the pent up energy inside me was released. I looked at Tyler and tried to point at the person he had said was still alive. He had finished the person he had been fighting, but right now I didn't care if that boy was alive or dead. Tyler understood and began to fumble wit the cuffs of the girl.

Someone was shaking me, shouting at me but I couldn't understand what the person said any more. I closed my eyes and tried to shout for everyone to get out, but my voice was failing. And the pain, the terrible agony was slowly consuming me, getting larger, covering me.

The last thing I felt, as I fell to the floor, were hands grasping me, pulling me away...


End file.
